Page 27 of Tango
“Okay. Ready?”
“Ready.” Alice shuts her eyes tightly and holds her breath.
“It’s important to keep breathing,” I tell her as I gently grip the backside of her arm. My entire hand wraps around her upper arm, so I’m able to use my thumb and fingers to gently pull the skin apart just enough to get a better look inside.
“I’m. Fine,” she hisses.
I look up at Dylan and give him a slight nod. He moves in behind her. We’ve seen it in the field: The injured person will start holding their breath to try to keep the pain at bay. Then, to compensate, their breathing becomes rapid and shallow, they hyperventilate, and they pass out.
“Here we go.” As carefully as I can, like a real-life game of Operation, I guide the tweezers into her injury.
She hisses again.
The glass is deep enough that I have to move past some tissue before closing the tweezers around it. “I’ve got it, okay? Going to pull it out now.”
Alice doesn’t respond, just offers a single nod. She’s breathing again, taking deep, steady breaths.
Keeping the balance of moving quickly but also doing what I can to avoid damaging the tissue any further, I pull the glass free. The shard is far larger than I thought it would be, nearly a quarter inch long, and shaped like a dagger.
Alice sways in her seat, and Dylan reaches out to steady her with gentle hands on her shoulders.
“I’m good. Sorry.” She takes a deep breath. My twin releases her. I glance up at him, noting the darkness in his gaze. Physical touch—aside from occasional hugs from our parents and siblings—always brings that darkness back.
It costs him greatly every time he has to step outside of his carefully crafted bubble.
After grabbing a fresh piece of gauze, I press it to her injury. “Hold this with your good hand.”
She does, and for a brief moment, her fingers brush mine. A shiver runs through me, desire that hits me so fast I’m sure I imagined it.
“That’s huge.” She studies the glass, pale gaze widening.
Get it together, Tucker. “Yeah. Thick too.” I set it on a piece of napkin. “It’s long enough you likely scraped your bone too. You really need to be on antibiotics.” I reach into my pocket and withdraw my cell.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling my sister. She’s a doctor. I’m going to have her call something in for you.”
“Oh. Okay. Cool.”
I tap Lani’s contact then put it on speaker because I imagine it’ll put Alice at ease, knowing she can hear everything that’s being said.
“Brother mine, what can I do for you?” Lani greets after the second ring.
“I need some antibiotics called into a local pharmacy. You can put it under Dylan’s name.”
“Excuse me? Why do you need antibiotics?”
“Infected wound in an upper arm.”
She groans. “Please tell me neither of you got shot. You guys are magnets for bullets, and this is getting ridiculous. I mean, you’ve only been gone, what, twenty-four hours?”
“Hey, never been shot here, remember?” I joke. “And it’s not for us. There was a piece of glass stuck in Alice Sterling’s arm. About a quarter of an inch long and wedged close to the bone. I’m worried the infection will be deep. I don’t want the prescription under her name just in case she’s being monitored. Same with mine.”
Lani is quiet for a moment. “Alice Sterling? You found her?”
“We did. And you’re on speakerphone.”
“Text me the location, and I’ll make the call. Since I’m on speakerphone, I will also add this. Alice, I don’t know whether or not you killed anyone, but if you hurt either of my brothers, I will personally hunt you down and make it look like an accident. Got it? Cool. Love you guys, bye!” She hangs up without waiting for a response from Alice or us.
